the, what's the link between old school music records and state of the art research on micro plastics? clock is enough. most old records are made from polyvinyl fluoride, which in slaying people called vinyl all once when, when i lower the stylus onto the record on it, there's evidently friction there which creates tiny particles. i'm going to be excited to and those tiny particles can turn into a big problem for being done. our resident d j is close to enough osh his daytime job professor of ecology because i did a lot of dejan while i was at college and beforehand starting with the vinyl than cds. and finally, digital i spent 20 years deejaying and im unit club audit. and group and then computer. but now he's playing a different tube, hoping to read the world of micro plastics the

by really famous for it solution at wagner, opera house and annual festival. with one of the town looks immaculately clean on the surface. there's a less visible problem looking on the streets that close to him not far. she has the sites on wherever he and his colleague go, they find the immediate conference. plastic waste is up here on the other one day back when i started looking at the issue of plastic pollution. and so i decided to count the number of plastic fragments between my home and the supermarket. it does me spite, if you want me to send over those 2 or 300 meters, i spotted 52 fragments of plastic with the naked eye while walking fit. this will be and if i'd been down like this, i would have found a lot more. there's simply everywhere as in victor id can be, i think one of the things you can see how it brain is creating more and more micro plastic. bold the white bits devised

a mass of tiny particles decomposing into micro plastics. it to be compressed. so does this pose a danger to us? moments i'll give a different all right. now we believe it's the small fragments of it present the greatest danger for dealing with the smaller particles in there's a bigger risk, but that instead of just staying in the digestive tract and being excrete it so that they could pass into body tissue. so then a milestone and that could lead to inflammatory reactions. and once i start passed these by that say to this did excellent for you. incentive, visible, plastic waste is unsightly, but relatively easy to dispose of. once it reaches the microscopic scale, however, it contaminates rivers, soil and the air all vital for our survival. and this is precisely the issue, the 2 men are investigating. what effect do? micro plastics have on the environment and on us the it's

a problem affecting the entire planet. micro plastics have now even been found in snow on the spot of bard archipelago in the arctic circle. a disturbing discovery can sewage treatment plants at least filter out micro plastics from our water. professor cooked enough for us from the university of by lloyd is on a field trip. behind the municipal sewage works where the filtered waste water is discharged into the local river. his team has devised their own manta trouble. annette for picking up the plastic particles, is okay time to launch, mentor some with little data available until recently. it's a pioneering field of research that requires innovation on the part of the scientists ramos. if you'd like other research groups and due to the issue, we thought it would be pretty straightforward. just a matter of going out taking samples and performing an experiment by this aquatic,

but these particles behaved differently. there are completely new class of substance and incredibly complex. people talk about micro plastic in the environment from jack, but it comes in a range of different shapes and sizes. different compositions and different basic plastics. it's a really complex subject to pacific one. queen stuff, let me put tullocks and as i've and bonds and the complex 2 a challenge for the young research assistant. but also for renowned professor who's not shy of pitching in on the physical side of research to the particulars in lubbock, these particles are incredibly hard to capture because when you need different analytical methods and different forms of experiments and completely different sampling scenarios, it's a lot more difficult to detect them and to do risk assessments, it's really exciting. on the 1st step in each survey is

a distinctly low tech affair. collecting and rinsing samples by hand. but actually finding the minute particles can be easier said than done for it all in, but then there you go. there are quite pop particulars another come with a few particles you can see with your own eyes that they're plastic, plastic conduct or something that looked at that little blue one here. and we'll see what all the white stuff is in the lab before i give them the phone, but there's quite a lot in there to refute the germans tend to think of their country as a clean one, but take a closer look and you'll find this. and that's just one part of the problem. the researchers believe that micro plastics enter rivers by an untold a rate of roots. they want to know what impact they have once they get there. to

assist their investigation of conditions on the bottom of the river bed. they brought along a special pump and other instruments. they developed themselves now carefully place it on top, the the compress the water from down below through special aluminum filters. their preparations are a fraction of a millimeter wine, enabling the researches to fish out particles that are invisible to the human eye. they're hoping to gain new insights, almost like on a mission to mars. back in the university lab, it's a question of rinse and repeat. the aim is to reduce the field trade so that it only contains the microscopic least small plastic articles. the,

the sample is now put under the microscope, doctoral student julia, on the use this attached to distribute the substance in small portions onto specimen slides. now that they're visible, she can read out the plastic particles by hand, one at a time, and extremely laborious task, the but it's the only option she has for a precise examination of the isolated fibers. the . you can tell from the peaks that it's polyethylene, global research into micro plastics is still a fairly new field. but one way or the biology university team is leading the way it both scientists from all manner of disciplines. among them is sema argona by a professor of chemistry from india. it is the chemistry that makes plastics,

and that's why the chemistry should solve it also in the chemistry console and we don't. so this b, e d, for example, be useful. what about those? a logic model, and this is a big problem. it is that if it goes by chance, it leaks in the live environment, it stays in environment for a long time. so give me so you can provide a nice material that looks like b, e, d, but by chance, if it leaks in the environment, it does not state you know, what might have environment for a long time. but how dangerous or micro plastics for the environment and for us, professor low forces search for answers also features. algy and daphne are commonly known as waters lease. does the man there are the al g p. r, which the daphne and feed on the document in the cuban somebody if you can see the haze of algae one and the 1st asking you to notice it are the lucky ones

because they're able to swim into this big cloud of food and get their fill the good, why water, please look for something as long as possible for me. i've been working with water police for quite some time, but they're one of the model organisms in ecology, and just especially in aquatic ecology running through because they're the link between uni cellular algae and higher trophic levels up and decides to decrease. so a lot of fish like beating on water please wants to making them a stock component of the oceans, nutritional network, and then honest assessment by the 2nd factor behind using water. please document is that these are all females, daphne it reproduce parts and a genetically or a sexually efficient dentistry. this provides us with genetically identical individuals for experiments, which means you can rule out genetic variability. awesome. it's a fantastic model organism, because you can work with naturally produced clones the can only hot submit them and all that can come. that work involves a series of constantly repeated experiments using

a variety of instruments. the researchers are still at a very early stage of their mission, but they're convinced that they'll be able to find answers and solutions. and also that we all have to change our habits. vicki in light about this piece of our treatment of the environmental needs to be a lot more sustainable and it's up to us and the next generation to ensure that we're able to maintain our modern lifestyle. and of course, we also want to have comfortable lives, but we need to take a more sustainable and mindful approach to all the resources available on smart. some of the professor and diving enthusiast asks whether at some point in the near future what we see in an aquarium will seem like a dream world with nature destroyed by toxic substances created by human kind. i see not arguing about shows for students how to

analyze the level of toxins contained in plastics, a model step and assess in the dangers posed by micro plastics. for example, in micro plastic, this machine can smell pollutants, especially the additives in synthetic materials. a primary focus in the work of the chemist and her team. and you can see because if they talk about doctors the do apply to the state. so it's not only the plastic material. so the plastic materials generally do not talk see because the as long molecules. so it's the editor, which we put in plastic for using is thomas the ability to believe, to giving the color to it or less the size that they might be. don't say the professor christian massage and his team are on the road to the next hotspot. after taking those water samples, they now head out to attach

a foreign land, again on the lookout for micro plastics. the taking samples here is far more straightforward than time consuming lab tests and working outdoors makes for a refreshing change of environment. you are young, the is doing her doctoral thesis on micro plastics in soil. the what impact do micro plastics have on? so where did they come from? and where did they end up? do they eventually just disintegrate? and are they really dangerous for us? from i'm, is this not too sure? we can't even say how much plastic is actually out there, which is why we're doing this research, something called black unfortunately, and we're not the only consumers here. we're not anything nice nor via look at all the soil organisms living in our fields that are mostly beneficial. paid on leave.

we need to know how much of this plastic is in this soil, and what damage it does to those tiny creatures shaddick this on the claim to use him, him bored to field samples, are sent straight to the lab. and by lloyd university, you williams, the vin transfers them to a sub system in order to sort out the larger particles. the procedure that's not as simple as it might sound. visits are placed in a vibrator device which shakes up the contents over a period of several hours in order to ensure a strict separation of the compass it elements. it's only the tiniest particles that the researcher is interested in. over in the adjacent lab see mount arc of all and her fellow chemists are developing a new biodegradable synthetic material. assuming they're successful. the aim is for it to one day be tested in a composting facility, which is almost,

i'm not in the facilities in this region. and you come paused for 2 or 3 months, so it should be possible to complete the decompose at biodegradable paloma in precisely that timeframe for spanish up the bulk of the team is constantly working on new methodologies. in the process of discovering new insights. they want the data they collect with their cutting edge instruments to help them devise a kind of plastic that does not break down into minutes, skill pieces and cause harm to living organisms. first of all, we can say of a material is by your degree. so it can be, it can also come in how much it is by or degree in how much time. and this is very important to come in. sylvan and who receives comes through the market. this day is very important. after water and soil. now it's time to look at the air. for this, the team deployed a special measuring master. it was likewise built by hand at the university's

dedicated workshop to it are to the precise requirements of the scientists. we all know not the exhaust fumes and particulate matter in the air that we read. but what about those invisible micro plastics? could they pose a similar danger the in order to imitate human air intake, the mast has a horizontal capture basket attached at head height, ecologist and plastic in air specialist jacobo stuff also frequently wonders whether he's constantly breathing in the tiny particles. so select a note of maybe it's a subconscious thing, may be, but it does make you more aware of the things around you, which is a bit scary to. so i talked with the,

the mast is left in place for a number of hours as the air streams through the baskets. and that's the team suspect it will lead behind some of those microscopic least small plastic particles . the smaller the particles are, the bigger the subsequent challenge in the lab. the various scientists have already spent several years refining and improving their methods and sometimes discarding them. but they're combined efforts have proved productive. our knowledge of micro plastics has improved significantly compared to just a decade ago. thanks also to the researchers in by void and their extensive deployment of new technology. junk of ulster uses a scanning electron microscope to render the invisible plastic visible. the machine helps to both count the particles and determine their constituent elements. the collaborative research effort brings together a range of institutes at different locations all working on the same subject. this

is research for the future that is also relevant today. the results are now available from the samples taken out in the field and from wastewater. it can take days if not weeks to process the materials for the researchers to finally access the actual micro plastic content and produce a detailed analysis with a size. the summary shows pretty clearly that we have both larger fragments, but above all smaller ones, so they should have meant it all before in the field. excited. what was the average size of the sample around 50 microns and give me speed that's 50 thousands of a millimeter. but it's the particles content and not size that the researchers are interested in. that's polyethylene, the p, as you can see here very nicely in the reverse image and that's included. and the chemical characterization has clearly identified it as p. b and polyethylene

or p e has an extremely long life, making it a particularly ominous adversary for the researchers. and it's a significant source of micro plastic, but there are signs of progress elsewhere. these candies from china are wrapped in a piece of rice paper that is itself edible. this was the idea of the never be that we start touring these packaging outside of the environment. this could be a very bad message, never be a not going to bring anything so that if you produced thoughts doing in the environment, know we are developing something that can be the cycle that can be managed in the least a management procedure like the normally plastic but if by chance intentionally or unintentionally it gets lead in the environment, it does not persist like other funding or defensive the environment. so how do our bodies react when we take in micro plastics?

here the researchers are discussing images of animal cells. today we know that are digestive tract contain micro plastics. but what happens then? some of these images show how the plastics are absorbed by the cells. in this case, in a mouse there's some good type of we've shown that the cells absorb the particles and that the intake is higher if there was already micro plastic in the environment. but the big question is whether there's this effect with humans to the team, from by highlight hopes to get answers at the university of l long. in a leading center of medical research here to there are specialists working in the micro plastics collaborative project. there. likewise, looking into what effect plastic particles have in human body cells. what might the long term consequences be for our health?

and how high is the risk of them causing cancer? researchers from biology to present their images of the mouse cells to professor of anatomy, sleep, lease paolo's in, and ask whether these findings can be applied to humans. let's say you have to look at the potential influence on too much development deal and whether it promotes chronic diseases. degenerative change in sanchez romantic conditions. so by the generative disease is affecting saying the cartilage and the muscular skeletal system for somebody to describe office as the deals of office. and some companies are also on board the general research mission. the house is a major international supplier of polymer base products and is also based in outline chemist, fema archive all is eager to join forces with industry in order to identify and

develop solutions, the solutions that from stage one of the manufacturing chain mean looking at how to prevent micro plastics actually being created. playhouse head of sustainability under the sienna, explains the composition of a new garden house. go to the pleasant surprise of fema. i've got all the confirms that yes, the material can be recycled. but there's a lot of work to be done. tire where is a major source of micro plastic emissions. a problem that the house is also tackling. it's working on a filter that could be installed in road drainage systems in order to collect the particles resulting from that abrasion here, industry and researchers have the common goal of ensuring that our environment is a healthy one. and this, what i see from my colleagues, my contact all over the road is that everybody has the same opinion. we have to do

something with the resources so that unless you to a generations, they have sufficient. i think this is one of the definitions of sustainability also that we should not waste of resources. we should. we should enjoy the business. we don't 65 think the future. kristen massage is back on the road to look at another exciting new development. he's come to include in bus also nearby white to meet inventor sebastian port, got his new construction would be deployed, where the professor sees the most obvious need a sewage treatment plant. the machine is specific lead designs to filter out micro plastics from the wastewater, as a local mayor has also come along and that he would ultimately bind a pilot facility. but 1st is a boss standpoint, gives the low down on his ingenious, simple sounding invention. the company of you can see i did a code to me in the middle of the night. i woke up at 3 am often having read an

article by who's doing the flush. of course please, i thought, hell, why not give it a try? so the next day i made a schedule of how it might work and just and the way we built it is practically identical to that sketch. i know his idea was for a special kind of hydro, psycho and machine during the cleaning process. it's subjects the water to massive centrifugal forces that push the plastic particles to the inside where they can be separated off initial testing at the treatment plan and has produced promising results with the majority of the micro plastics being removed from the waste water growth. explain stock and from the test as a to this particular the mayor of lieutenant boss who sees it as an investment in the future of his community. the wondering if it of the business, i think also for putting the the bigger plus the gives me the spot. well mine per pound sticks are not visible that people are aware of that. it has to be done, but as being totally positive feedback in newspaper ripple,

it's about the pilot facility or use. okay. there's some reason. well, i mean it's a great thing that's good for the environment and the method. you believe this cost it down? yeah, it's a couple of euros more again to the waste water bill, and there's not something everyone can afford it, but it's cheap. you the wrong kind of so this treatment plan to at least should soon have no more micro plastics. after cleaning it's wastewater, if it does not do the super, i love it because our objective was always about finding solutions, not just highlighting all the bad things. so, and then even on it's the same principle with our special research project, $2.00. instead of focusing on pure research. we also look for answers who's going to be but when it comes to answers, what's the personal feeling of the new filters, inventor. what does realizing and vision feel like? does this get sort of some of that, how does it can feel like tilting at windmills and on that you're a pioneer? because what i wind up going to get the plastic problem under control of the night, some plastic in our environment is going to remain an issue for centuries for

millennia. nice the home that the opposing to pacific. what matters now is finding a way of minimizing the sources of contamination, touchscreen, so many and that's the task that enjoys total commitment from the researchers. and by like university, they face a long road ahead with no end of further experiments in their quest for solutions. the and always in the mix, the d. j turn professor on a mission to make the world a groove your place by making micro plastics, history the or the

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